Live the Dream With Your Own Tropical Island Resort

It’s a world away from the hectic life of the corporate city dweller. But could running your own tropical resort be the career move you’ve been waiting for?

Imagine trading your morning workout at the crowded gym for a leisurely swim in peaceful tropical waters. Switching your drive to work through the urban jungle for a walk along a wandering pathway lined with palm trees. And not simply having a job, but an enjoyable lifestyle in one of the most beautiful places on earth. If you’ve been dreaming of an escape from the corporate grind, leaving it all behind to run a tropical dive resort may just be your chance. So get ready to throw away your suit and tie in favour of flip-flops, cargo shorts and a Hawaiian shirt (yes, they’re mandatory).

One of the best prospects on the market for your flee from civilization is the 12-acre Manta Caye Resort. Located beside Glover’s Atoll on Belize’s beautiful Barrier Reef, Manta was once a premier destination for hardcore dive enthusiasts from the USA and Europe, and with a little work could easily reclaim a strong following. Kept in a good state of repair and with a full-time caretaker currently on the island, Manta is a gorgeous stretch of sand and palms with a dozen brightly-painted bungalows scattered across the island, and plenty of room for expansion. It also comes with a relaxed central dining area, staff quarters and an owner’s residence. Since the property has been so well-maintained, it’s possible to be open for business and running dive and reef tours within just a month of purchase.

Perfectly located for tourism, Manta is surrounded by crystal clear Caribbean waters but close enough to the country’s capital (Belize City is about a 35 minute helicopter ride away) that accessibility will be a breeze for your guests. One of the most upmarket Barrier Reef locations, the Glover’s Atoll area is the mooring spot of choice for many luxury yachts, and with a little upgrading the island would be prime for a truly exclusive resort. With the booming eco-tourism market and the diminishing number of truly pristine areas left on earth, tropical private island resorts like Manta are also great investment and a very popular destination for an increasing number of adventurous (or just sun-worshiping) tourists- even actor Leonardo DiCaprio is developing a sustainable resort on his Belizean caye . And for the nature lover, it’s a great opportunity to educate your guests about the rare reef systems, “blue holes” and other unique local ecologies that will give even the most sophisticated city dweller a new appreciation for the environment.

If the laid-back life of a dive resort owner sounds too good to be true, well, of course there are a few drawbacks. If you’re living in quarters on the island, that means you’re pretty easy for staff and guests to find even in your off-hours (and there won’t be many of those). And without much access to labor and no quick drive to a hardware store, it helps to know your way around a tool box and be able to put “necessity is the mother of invention” to the test. But maybe the biggest dilemma for tropical resort owners happens when it comes time to take a vacation. Where are you supposed to go on holiday, when you’ve got the best sun, sand and adventure right there at work?